Obituary: Richard Sowby, optometrist and veteran

Richard Sowby died of natural causes Friday while vacationing with his wife, Glendale News-Press society columnist Ruth Sowby, on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. He was 78.

He was born in Los Angeles in 1933 and was a resident of Burbank, Glendale and La Crescenta for 50 years.

He was an optometrist in Burbank for 50 years

After returning home from the Navy in the South Pacific, he built the Burbank Optometric Center on Hollywood Way, serving thousands of residents. He was president of the American Optometric Assn., president of the San Fernando Valley Optometric Assn., served as an officer of the Burbank Lions Club and was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Glendale.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth; son Anson; daughter-in-law Roberta Cysne; and grandson Luke Ford.

Services will be Friday, with a viewing from 10 to 11 a.m. and the service from 11 a.m. to noon — both at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1101 N. Central Ave., Glendale. Burial services will be from 1 to 2 p.m. at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles.